Volume One: First Steps

Chapter 1: The Exchange System

"What did I ever do to deserve this! Even a crappy toilet is bullying me now!"

James Bolton looked at the pit toilet at his feet, its gaping mouth mocking him, and felt utterly depressed. He wished he could just fill it in right now.

"Give me a break, will you? There goes another few hundred bucks down the drain!" James Bolton muttered to himself, feeling a pang of heartache. "Damn, am I really this unlucky? Why does everything bad happen to me!"

Lately, bad luck had been following him everywhere. First, he got fired by his manager for being dead last in sales for three months in a row. Well, that was James Bolton's own fault!

He really couldn't bring himself to sell what the company was offering, and never went out to promote it, just scraping by on the base salary. Could the boss afford to keep freeloaders? Of course not—he was told to pack up and leave.

To make things worse, this morning James Bolton went for an interview, and as soon as the chubby interviewer saw his resume, he just tossed out, "We don't hire from that school," and dismissed James Bolton on the spot.

James Bolton was about to explode with anger. What's wrong with that school? Doesn't it have an official degree recognized by the state? If you won't hire me, then I don't want to work for you anyway!

Of course, James Bolton only grumbled in his heart. Under the scornful gazes of several elite university graduates also there for the job, he slunk away in embarrassment.

On the way back, James Bolton kept cursing that fat bastard from the interview, wishing he'd choke on water and never grow a you-know-what, muttering all the way back to his rented basement room.

It was an old building from the 1980s, and the basement had long been abandoned. It was cheap, though—James Bolton rented it for just 200 yuan a month. The only inconvenience was that there was only a public toilet, so James Bolton had to go outside every time he needed to use it.

Just now, after coming back to use the toilet, James Bolton had another stroke of bad luck. Carelessly, he dropped his old phone—used for years—right into the pit.

"Sigh, even the toilet only bullies honest folks like me. I only blocked you twice! Was that really necessary?"

Complaints aside, James Bolton still had to fish out his phone. He could do without the phone, but he needed the SIM card inside.

Pinching his nose, James Bolton steeled himself. Once he got the phone out, he swore he'd block the toilet ten more times, just to teach it a lesson. But after groping around for ages, he didn't find the phone—instead, he pulled out a white, crystal-like object about the size of a phone battery. James Bolton was annoyed. What kind of person throws random stuff into a toilet!

"It actually looks pretty nice. Could it be some kind of treasure? Am I about to get rich?"

Staring at the crystal in his hand, James Bolton was fantasizing about having found some valuable treasure, when suddenly the crystal burst out with a dazzling light, like a tiny sun.

"Ah!" James Bolton screamed and collapsed to his knees, his whole body feeling like it was being stabbed by needles. It took a long while before the pain finally subsided.

James Bolton was about to lose it. Who the hell was trying to mess with him? Just as he was about to start cursing, something unexpected happened.

Because suddenly, a voice sounded in James Bolton's mind, startling him.

"Energy Exchange Device activated. Scanning host... Scan complete. Host James Bolton: Physical Index: 4 (adult standard is 5), Mental Index: 5, Combat Power: 1. Host binding successful!"

Still a bit dazed, James Bolton was scared for quite a while after hearing the voice in his head. Was someone playing a prank on him?

"Who is it? I don't have any money, can't you see where I live?"

After saying that, James Bolton didn't even dare to breathe. Maybe he just misheard?

When no one replied for a long time, James Bolton finally relaxed. "See? No one would come to this dump to rob me. Guess living in a basement has its perks after all."

James Bolton laughed at himself. If he had money, who would want to live in a place like this? Mosquitoes in the summer, freezing like a fridge in the winter.

Just as he thought this, James Bolton froze. Where was the white crystal in his hand? He searched the floor for a long time but couldn't find it. James Bolton started to feel uncertain—could that thing really have been some kind of treasure?

"Treasure, can you hear me? Come out, I already saw you!"

"Energy Exchange Device activated. Insufficient energy! AI entering sleep mode. System will enable automatic service function." The electronic synthesized voice sounded in James Bolton's mind again.

This time, James Bolton really lost his composure. He had heard it clearly just now—something was really talking in his head.

"Come out! I'm not afraid of you! Come out now!" James Bolton had never experienced anything like this before. It was a miracle he wasn't crying from fear; his voice was trembling.

That so-called system really did fall silent, no matter how much James Bolton shouted, there was no response.

"Whew!"

Letting out a long breath, James Bolton mocked himself: "Looks like I was born unlucky. Maybe that thing really was something good, and I scared it away?"